Artificial Intelligence

Digital talent is a hot topic among retail CEOs today — primarily, where to find enough talent to develop the organization’s “digital DNA” at every level and in every area of the business. With digital talent within retail in short supply, we now have to proactively go further afield — whether in travel, finance, the tech industry or elsewhere — to identify and woo the digital experts our companies need to grow.

Consumer packaged goods companies need to plan for a “1-5-10” market in the United States during the next five years, in which digital’s current 1% penetration will likely expand to 5% and could accelerate to as much as 10% in short order, according to a new report, The Digital Future: A Game Plan for Consumer Packaged Goods, prepared for the Grocery Manufacturers Association by The Boston Consulting Group, Googl

While holiday forecasts are just starting to come out, most industry experts agree that retailers can expect mobile to command a bigger share of online shopping. Forrester projects $294 billion in e-commerce sales across 30 retail categories in 2014, with $87 billion of the total occurring on phones and tablets in 2014. A report by IBM forecasts that mobile will account for more than 20% of site sales and more than 43% of site traffic, by November 2014.

“Mobile should be a primary purchase channel within a few years,” said Bill Davis, director of MB&G Consulting.

San Francisco – Icix, a provider of supply chain risk management technology, is expanding its Audit Manager suite. Audit Manager applications help companies automate and streamline their audit programs to provide more insight and verification of trading partners’ practices and facilities.

The Icix Audit Manager Suite now includes:

Electrolux has joined the AllSeen Alliance, a nonprofit open source consortium, as a premier member. The company joins Haier, LG, Microsoft, Panasonic, Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Sharp, Silicon Image, Technicolor and TP-Link as premier members of the alliance.

Combining system controls in refrigeration, HVAC and lighting is key

Retail facility directors continually look for ways to drive down operational costs, but are limited in their efforts without a strong control system. Installation of a facility control system can provide savings and improve operations of a small-format retail store if adhered to well.

Why is it important to use controls to ensure store policies are being enforced?

AccuStore, a leading provider of site intelligence for retailers and multi-site operators, has added former ShopperTrak president and CEO Jan Davis to the board of AccuStore’s parent company, GSP.

The LED revolution sweeping the building industry is now ready for the next stage: intelligent lighting control, which has the potential to transform the retail environment by making it more flexible, better understood and connective with shoppers.

LEDs are inherently dimmable, and many LED products are sold with dimming capability regardless of how the owner plans to control them.